March 25, 2014

A busy and historic day! We went on a tour today to see two historic places near Nashville. Our tour guide was a retired Greyhound bus driver who had some great stories to tell during the journey but unfortunately sounded like Darth Vader while wearing his headset. I think a little oxygen might have helped the situation. 

The first stop was The Hermitage- home of Andrew Jackson. We learned many things about our 7th president and the great love story with his wife. The second stop was the Belle Meade Plantation. Both of these homes were well preserved with original furnishings. It was fun to snoop through the house and get a glimpse of how they lived in the late 1800's. Belle Meade also has a little winery that offers a Muscadine wine that is pretty good. We didn't wander around the property of either home because it was a freezing cold day and it even snowed! Fortunately it didn't stick.  

When we returned from the tour we hurried over to the Country Music Hall of Fame to finish seeing the part of the museum we didn't have time to see yesterday. If that wasn't enough, we took a cab out to the Grand Ole Opry which is a good distance away from downtown in east Nashville. It was a great show but we had not heard of any of the performers: Gwen Sebastian, Jesse McReynolds, Chase Rice, John Conlee, Parmalee, Connie Smith, Easton Corbin, and Craig Morton. 

It was a long day but Don and I are feeling more informed about country music and Nashville history!

 

 

The Hermitage; Belle Meade; Elvis'  24 Karat gold plated piano; at the Grande Ole Opry